The breastplate of Righteousness

1. The Breastplate of Righteousness – 11th May 2017
“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of
righteousness in place” (Ephesians 6:14).
In Ephesians6,it tellsbelieversto“putonthe whole armorof God” in orderto standfirmagainstthe
attacks of our enemy,Satan.Butthe weaponsthatwe needto employ are spiritual innature having
divine power.We canlearnthisfrom 2 Corinthians10:4, “The weaponswe fightwithare not the
weaponsof the world. On the contrary, they have divinepower to demolishstrongholds. The full
Armourof God has spiritual meaningsbecauseit iswhatcan protectus duringspiritual warfare. Froma
Christianperspective, spiritualwarfareisthe warof goodversusevil:Itsbattlesare foughtdaily
betweenGodandSatan;betweenthe ChristianChurchandthe worldsystemruledbyourspiritual
enemy – Satan.Thisbattle isalso withineverychildof God,betweenthe HolySpiritandthe lustsof the
carnal flesh. ButasChristianswe needtobearin mindthatthe clear meaningsof goodandevil,
isdefinedbyGodrather thanman, andare revealedwithinthe verses foundin the HolyBible andthe
life of JesusChrist.
The full armourof God isreferredtoas: Beltof truth, Breastplate of righteousness, Gospel of peace,
Shieldof faith,Helmetof salvation,the Swordof the spirit,andfinally,prayer.We can understandthis
whenwe read fromEphesians 6:10-13, “Finally,bestrong inthe Lord andin his mightypower. 11
Put
on the full armor of God,sothat you can take your stand againstthe devil’sschemes. 12
For our
struggleis not againstfleshand blood,butagainstthe rulers, againstthe authorities,againstthe
powers of thisdark world andagainstthe spiritual forces ofevil in the heavenlyrealms. 13
Therefore
put on the full armor of God,sothat when the dayof evil comes,you may be able to standyour
ground,and after youhave done everything,to stand.”
Whenthe bible referstothe full armourof God, ithas spiritual meaningsbecause itismeanttobe put
on duringspiritual warfare…inourfightagainstsinandevil forourprotection.Because,ourfightis not
againstfleshandblood.Itisagainstthe rulers,againstthe authorities,againstthe powersof thisdark
worldand againstthe spiritual forcesof evil inthe heavenlyrealms. Thereforethe bibleadvisesustoput
on the full armourof God…tobe readyto respondandbe protected. The full armourof God is referred
to: Beltof truth, Breastplate of righteousness,Gospelof peace, Shieldof faith,Helmetof salvation,
Swordof the SpiritandfinallyPrayer. Toputon the full armourof God isto believe the gospel of grace.
We can learnfrom Ephesians6:14-17, “Standfirmthen, with the belt of truth buckledaroundyour
waist,with the breastplate ofrighteousnessin place,and withyour feet fittedwith the readiness that
comes from the gospel of peace. In additiontoall this,take up the shieldof faith,with whichyou can
extinguishall the flamingarrowsof the evil one. Take the helmet of salvationandthe sword of the
Spirit,which isthe wordof God.”
Duringthe time of Jesus, the typical armedsoldierwore abreastplate made of bronze orchainmail.It
coveredthe vital organs,namely,the heart,andwasfittedwithloopsorbucklesthatattacheditto a
thickbelt.If the beltwas loosened,the breastplate slippedrightoff. The breastplateof righteousness
referstothe righteousnesspurchasedforusby Jesusatthe crossbecause as humanswe cannotachieve
righteousnessasdemandedbyGod.Therefore: “Godmadehimwhohad no sin to be sin for us,so that

2. in himwe mightbecome the righteousnessof God. (2 Corinthians5:21). In the above passage the
breastplate of righteousnessreferstothe righteousnesspurchasedforusbyJesusat the cross. When
one receives salvation,a“breastplate”isissuedtoeachrepentantsinner.Itistoprotectour heart and
soul fromevil anddeception.Ourownrighteousactsare no match forSatan’sattacks. We can learn
where Isaiahexplains:“All ofushave become like one whois unclean,and all our righteousacts are
like filthyrags;we all shrivel uplike a leaf,and like the windour sins sweep us away.” (Isaiah64:6).
Whenone seekssalvationthroughfaithinJesusChristasonessaviour, we have the breastplate of
righteousness,anditwill have Christ’sname stampedonit,asthoughHe said,“Your righteousnessisn’t
sufficienttoprotectyou. Therefore wearmine.”
We are instructedto“put on” thisarmor, whichimpliesthatwe donot automaticallywearitall the
time.Puttingonthe armor of God requiresadecisiononourpart. To put on the breastplate of
righteousness,we mustfirsthave the beltof truthfirmlyinplace.Withouttruth,ourrighteousnesswill
be baseduponour ownattemptsto impressGod.Thisleadstolegalismorself-condemnation.Butwe
can learnfromRomans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now nocondemnationforthose who are inChrist
Jesus.” As Christianswe need toacknowledge that,apartfromHim, we can do nothing.Jesussaid:“I
am the vine; you are the branches. If youremain in me and I inyou, you will bear much fruit; apart
from me you can donothing.”(John15:5).We see ourselvesas “inChrist”and that,regardlessof our
failures,Hisrighteousnesshasbeencreditedtoouraccount.
We “putit on” the breastplate of Righteousness byseekingGodandHisrighteousnessabove everything
else astoldby Jesusin Matthew 6:33, “But seek first hiskingdomand hisrighteousness,andall these
thingswill be given to you as well.” We make Him and Hiswaysour dwellingplace andwe delightinHis
commandsand desire forHiswaysto become ourways.WhenGod revealsanarea of change to us, we
needtoobeyand allowHimto workinus. At the pointwhere we say“no” to God,we opena crack in
the armor where Satan’sarrowscan get through.We can learnfrom Ephesians6:16, “In additiontoall
this,take up the shieldof faith,withwhich youcan extinguishall the flamingarrowsof the evil one.”
As we wearChrist’sbreastplate of righteousness andare consciouslyaware of thisact,we beginto
developapurityof heartthat translatesintoactions.Wearingthisbreastplatecreatesalifestyleof
puttingintopractice whatwe believe inourhearts.Asourlivesbecome conformedtothe image of
Christ,our choicesbecome more righteous,andthese godlychoicesalsoprotectusfromfurther
temptationanddeception.Because asstatedin Proverbs8:20, “Iwalk in the way of righteousness,
alongthe paths ofjustice”
We needourbreastplate of righteousnessinplace inordertogain the victoryspecifiedin 2Corinthians
10:15: “Weare destroyingspeculationsandevery loftything raisedup againstthe knowledgeof God
and we are taking every thought captiveto the obedienceof Christ.” We rejectheretical ideas,idolatry,
and the “counsel of the ungodly”andinstead“keepoureyesonJesus,the authorandfinisherof our
faith.”Therefore we needtokeepourbreastplatesecurelyfastened andbe able totestifythe Gospel of
grace to as manyas we possiblycan. Because the writerof Actsstated: “Ido not accountmy lifeof any
valuenor as precious to myself,if only I may finishmycourse and the ministrythat I received fromthe
Lord Jesus, to testifyto the gospel of the grace of God.”(Acts20:24).